1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for sorting and separating sections in an outputted stack of printed continuous paper web and more particularly to a method and apparatus in which a stack is folded or cut at predetermined locations that vary in page length size depending upon how the pages or sections are to be separated, stacked, indicated and tabbed.
2. Background of Invention
There is a great need when producing printed matter in volume to combine, sectionalize, and otherwise sort the material into identifiable bundles. This operation is sometimes referred to generally as "binding". The traditional form of binding involves the joining together of separate leaves of paper along one edge such that the paper may be opened and paged through on the opposite end. Tabs may often be placed either in indented form, for a finger to catch while quickly thumbing through pages, or in extended form relative to an exposed edge of the bound paper to divide section. These tabs may often contain printed material or some other way of indicating a given section of the total bound material.
With the advent of continuous paper printing, especially in computer applications, a binding operation may also take the form of the production of a zig-zagged stack of paper printout. Equipment now exists to fold and separate the stack into separate bundles of zig-zag paper representative of different sections of a document or different printing jobs, but the overall length of each page in the zig-zag, including the cover and section break pages, is always equal. This even length results from the use by the folder/separator of only the evenly spaced perforations pre-cut on each page. Devices for folding of zig-zag paper along its perforations are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,871,157, 4,846,454, 4,842,572, 4,778,165 and 4,730,762. Like the separator, these folders also have no provision for varying the lengths of folded sheets of paper. Rather, as discussed above, they rely only upon the existence of pre-cut perforations placed at equal intervals upon the paper web. To indicate sections, they utilize offset, stacking or an external tab that is inserted into the stack. Thus, the prior art lacks provision for the production of paper that is folded or cut in various page length sizes different from that of the pre-cut perforated page size. These prior disclosures produce no tabbing or other means for indicating various sections or jobs in a continuous output of stacked and folded material and their zig-zag paper stands in a uniform stack of output having no rapid means for identifying individual sections or jobs. Additionally, the external tabs or offsets used by these devices have a tendency to fall off while offsets may slip back together.